Office Hours:
Monday-Tuesday
8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wednesday
10:00 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Thursday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Terms of Award

ACCEPTING OR DECLINING YOUR PSU FINANCIAL AID

Your financial aid award will be considered AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPTED. If you wish to decline any or all of your financial aid, please email or write the PSU Financial Aid Team. Official requests to decline any or all aid must be in writing (email, etc). By accepting your financial aid, you are authorizing us to discuss your application and financial situation with public or private agencies that may also be offering you financial aid unless you inform us otherwise. All federal student loans will require two (2) additional processing steps (See LOAN section below). If your award identified a Federal Parent PLUS Loan, and your parents are planning to use this funding option, they must also apply and be approved for the PLUS loan (it is NOT automatic).

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

As a condition for receiving federal financial aid funds, you must notify us in writing of any of the situations or conditions listed below. Changes in your aid may be required due to these conditions. Failure to report these conditions may result in cancellation of aid.

Advise us if you plan to change your enrollment status (i.e. from full-time to part-time, or vice-versa). Eligibility for aid is determined on either full-time (12 semester hours or more each term) or part-time (6-11 semester hours) enrollment. Generally, only students enrolled at least six hours or more are eligible for financial aid. Students who enroll for three hours or less may be eligible for Federal Pell Grants, limited to high need (based on completion of the FAFSA) students only.
Advise us if you plan to graduate mid-year.
Report any external scholarships/resources (as soon as possible after notification). These are awards which were not part of your original PSU financial aid package but have since been awarded. These awards may require an adjustment to your financial aid package if you are receiving federal funds. Please click here for forms and instructions.
Any resources which become available to a student after their original award may require an adjustment to those programs originally identified.

LOANS

FIRST TIME PSU Federal Stafford and/or Federal Perkins Loan Borrowers must complete two processes to access federal loans:

A one-time student loan counseling session at Mapping-Your-Future must be completed before loan funds are disbursed, and
An individual Master Promissory Note (MPN) for both Federal Stafford (needed only once) and/or Perkins Loan (needed annually).
- Federal Stafford Loan: After selecting a lender for your loan, your will receive information on how to sign your MPN online from the guaranty agency. Questions regarding this process should be directed to the guaranty agency. If you do not complete the online process, and have not contacted us to decline your loan, you will receive a paper MPN which must be completed, signed and returned to the guaranty agency.
- Federal Perkins Loan: MPNs will be mailed by PSU mid-summer directly to the student to complete, sign and return to PSU.

Prior PSU Federal Stafford borrowers who have completed an MPN will have their loan(s) automatically certified and disbursed unless notification is given to PSU to adjust your loan amount. If a student was previously enrollment and now has not returned to PSU for at least one year, they will be required to be readmitted, the both the above referenced Entrance counseling session and MPN should be completed again.

BE A SMART BORROWER

Follow these tips to stay organized and on top of your loan business! Your future credit rating is impacted by your student loans.

Keep a file of all of your loan documents from the time you first get a loan. This is important so that you know WHO you need to contact if you have questions, WHO you need to repay, or HOW to defer payment if you have financial difficulties. Read your loan documents carefully and keep them even after your debt is paid in full.
Keep a record of each time you talk to your lender or loan servicer, including the date, time, the person you talked to, and what was said. If you send letters, always keep a copy of the letter for yourself and any response that you receive in your file. This can help you avoid misunderstandings down the road.
Notify your school and/or loan holder in writing if you move, change your name or Social Security Number, or re-enroll in school. You must ensure that your loan holder will not lose track of you so that you do not miss payments and become delinquent.
Always ask questions if there is something that you do not understand or if you are having trouble making payments. Ask your loan holder or loan servicer for help before things become too tough!

FEDERAL WORK STUDY

Federal Work Study awards allow you to participate actively in meeting the cost of your education while gaining valuable work experience. You receive work study money directly; it is not applied to your bill. Work study earnings are paid every two weeks and are adjusted for federal taxes.

GIFT LEVEL

Federal Pell, SEOG, ACG, SMART, state grants, and PSU Grants and Scholarships make up need-based gift level. If any of these awards change, there normally is an adjustment in the University Grant award (up or down).

ESTIMATED AWARDS

Before final disbursement of Federal Pell Grants, PSU may need to receive an updated Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) from the Federal Processor.

State Grants will be finalized once we receive an award roster from the appropriate state agency. However, if you receive an award notification from your state agency, please send us a copy of the award notification. Our fax # is (603)535-2627.

BILLING INFORMATION

Bills are prepared by the Bursar's Office and are available through myPlymouth in early-July for the fall semester and mid-November for the spring semester. Payment arrangements must be made by the Bursar's payment due dates, usually one month after bills are available. Late payment arrangements will generate penalty fees.

To learn how your financial aid may be listed on your tuition bill or to obtain important billing and payment deadlines, please visit the Bursar's Office web site.

A helpful publication for understanding key terms is available from FastWeb